Teneri Paciocchini  Cute Chubbies Nav13
by MicioGatta
Summary: Did you ever wonder how would Patragani tribbles be? Enterprise crew found a Patragano cargo cube that have a lot of little pets in it. Be aware there's some talking about sex, nothing explicit, and a little OoC functional to the story here and there.
1. Chapter 1

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

Dedicated to my Mother

(October 4th, 2009)

§1

Travis Mayweather walked slowly, on tiptoe. He had to blend in with the bulkheads, to be invisible.

He must not be heard.

It was his last chance.

His last chance to save Enterprise and her crew.

He turned the corner.

The bastard was there, sitting quietly on the decking with its back to the helmsman, and nibbling a sandwich that had probably been stolen from the mess hall.

He would have liked to have torn that treacherous, wicked, nasty fur ball, with five chubby little paws and two antennas, to shreds...but he could not kill it now.

He walked slowly.

He could not reveal himself too early in case it ran away: it was so fast

it would be difficult to find again.

He just had to grab hold of that soft little body and turn it upside down.

Then it would be rendered harmless because the creature would fall asleep. Or so Dr. Phlox had told him.

Travis reached out. He was almost within reach...

The creature turned around. It saw him. It straightened out its stubby legs, stretched up antennae and regarded the helmsman with eyes wide with fear.

«Stay calm...» he said. «I do not want to hurt you. »

The creature's hair stood up in fear, making it look like a large wad of hair.

Travis tried to carefully grab hold of it around its middle, but the creature wriggled away, ending up in a corner between two bulkheads.

«Quiet ... I will not hurt you. »

Then the creature began to vibrate.

«No! » Travis shook his head vigorously, in a desperate attempt to get it to stop. «Calm down...»

The vibration was growing stronger... and stronger...

BOOOOOM!

Travis just had time to cover his face with his arm.

Organic debris rained down on him. He felt broken bits of bone cutting his

exposed skin while copious amounts red blood covered him and his uniform. When he lowered his arm, the little furry creature was gone. All that was left behind were fragments of bone, guts and whatever else had been part of that disgusting bastard, littered over the bulkheads. Travis had to shake his hand to get rid of the hairy little ear that was clinging to the back of it.

«Damn...» he whispered. This was not the outcome they had wanted. He activated the comm: «Mayweather to Doctor Phlox. »

«Phlox here, have you found it, Ensign? »

Travis sighed, «Yes..., but it exploded. »

The doctor was silent for a moment. «We'll have to find a different way of getting a cure. And fast! »

….Ten days earlier...

When Captain Jonathan Archer arrived on the bridge that morning, he noticed that the atmosphere was very peaceful, a feeling that he really liked. In the days after they had escaped from the planet of Trekapa, their mission of exploration had been successful. They had visited new planets and learnt about other cultures... everything, in short, had gone well. They had even sent an away team undercover to a planet with a pre-warp culture and that mission had also gone smoothly. Their good luck was all due to data that the Monarchs of Trekapa had given them, probably in order to keep them engaged while they held Trip Tucker prisoner. It had been the only good thing about that meeting. Since Trip had been recovered, the morale of the crew was back to normal and consequently so was the captain's.

That morning he had witnessed another extraordinary event: exiting out of the bridge turbolift, he had almost run into T'Pol. She had an expression on her face that Trip had affectionately nicknamed «the Vulcan imitation of a smile».

«Good morning, Captain.» T'Pol had said as she handed him a PADD. «A new planet,» was all she offered up as he perused the data on the PADD.

Archer smiled; T'Pol had become used to the need to put new planets at the top of her list of communications.

«Where is it? «

«It is three days away, the co-ordinates are 124.3.»

«Isn't that on the same course heading as Klingon space?»

T'Pol nodded. «But the planet is still a safe distance away. We can get to it without a problem.»

«Good! » Satisfied, Archer was about to issue Mayweather with an order, but T'Pol stopped him.

«There's something else. On the same route and a short distance from here, there is debris field made up of processed metals. »

«Are you suggesting we should investigate this?»

T'Pol nodded.

«I agree, Mister Mayweather, set co-ordinates 124.3, warp speed 4.5.»

«Acknowledged Sir, co-ordinates set,» Travis replied, smiling.

Archer then turned to Hoshi, «Communication?»

«Nothing incoming at the moment, Sir.»

Archer sat down on the captain's chair, at the centre of the bridge. Yes, he thought, this is the life.

(To be continued...)

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	2. Chapter 2

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§2

«Archer to Commander Tucker.»

T'Pol pulled her arm from under the covers and reached over to Trip, lying behind her. «Trip, wake up.»

«Archer to Commander Tucker.»

T'Pol sighed and turned round to face her mate, «Trip!»

Trip slowly opened his eyes: «What's up?» He slurred, sleepily.

«Captain Archer is looking for you.»

A not really awake Tucker looked toward the door. «Where is he then, he's not here.»

«The comm.» she said.

«Ah, that's good, he's not here.» Trip remarked, as he firmly closed his eyes and nuzzled up against her.

«Archer to Commander Tucker... damn it, Trip, where are you? «

At that point, Trip really opened his eyes wide. «Oh hell!» He reached across to active the comm and asked: «What time is it?»

«0200 hours, I need you in launch bay one, double quick.»

«At two in the morning?» He protested, yawning loudly. «Okay, I'm coming... Tucker out.» He pulled the blankets back up to his ears.

«Trip, you have to go.» she said.

«Mhm...»

«Archer to Commander T'Pol.»

«T'Pol here.» She replied, while shaking Trip's shoulder.

«I need you in launch bay one, immediately.»

«I'll be right there.»

T'Pol deactivated the comm and sitting up on the bunk, pulled the covers away from the man lying half asleep at her side.

«It's cold,» Trip muttered.

«Get up.» She replied, getting out of bed.

«But I'm sleepy...»

«When we want to mate, we must stop watching movies that keep us up late early. Otherwise, you do not get enough sleep.»

Tucker sighed heavily and sat up. «This really takes the cake!» He muttered as he got out of bed and retrieved his clothes from the bench. «And I would have got enough sleep enough if the Cap'n hadn't woken us up after only an hour...»

T'Pol reached up to Trip's shoulders to straighten out his uniform, and then they exited her quarters.

When they entered the launch bay, they immediately noticed a large metal cube sitting on the deck. Then they acknowledged Captain Archer who was standing alongside Hoshi.

«What's that?» Trip asked.

«We found it in a field of debris.» Archer said.

«I can confirm your suspicions, Captain.» Reed advised, as he emerged from behind the cube.

«What is it that you are "confirming"?» Trip asked.

Hoshi pointed at a sign on one side of the cube. «It's a Patragano cargo cube.»

«Which would indicate that the debris is from a Patragana ship?» T'Pol asked.

«Exactly.»

«They've travelled far from their planet.» Trip noted, as he looked the cube over. «I wonder how it opens?»

«If we knew that,» Archer commented, «I could have left you to sleep. However, we'll need all your skills to get it open.»

Then Archer turned to Hoshi and issued an order, «I need you to find a way to contact the Patragani. As this is the only cargo cube from their transport ship to survive intact, they'll probably want it back.»

Just then, there was a distinct «click». Then the onlookers saw the top of the cube rotate.

Tucker had taken a good thirty seconds to open the cube that just a short time before, Reed had declared to be an "inaccessible single unit".

«What's inside?» He asked, peering into the cube.

«Small life forms.» T'Pol said as she finished analyzing the result of her scan of the contents of the cube. «They are all in stasis-» abruptly, she stopped what she about to say as Trip lifted out one of the transparent cubes that were packed inside.

«All except one.» She corrected herself.

Trip looked at the animal that was beginning to move in the transparent cube.

«Oh! It's so tender!» Hoshi whispered. «Do you think Patragani keep them as pets?»

The little ball of fur stretched out to reveal five chubby tiny paws, which were then stretched one by one. Then with a slight «pop» two drop-shaped dainty ears came out and between them two antennas sprang up.

«Oh, how sweet,» Hoshi cooed.

Archer wondered to himself if Hoshi had a pet as a child. He concluded that she had probably not had that experience, hence the reaction to the little creatures she was having now; a reaction which would have been more appropriate if she was twenty years younger.

Then two little black eyes opened, blinked, and looked at the five humans surrounding it. Suddenly, the creature's fur swelled up, and then it began to visibly tremble.

«If I were you, commander,» T'Pol said, the Vulcan with phlegm. «I'd put the container in its place.»

«If I were you, commander,» T'Pol said, with icy Vulcan calmness. «I'd return the container to the cube.»

«Why? It is cute...» However, when his hands began to tremble because of the strong vibrations from the creature, Tucker decided it was better to listen to T'Pol. He put the container back were he had found it, in the metal cube.

«What is it doing now?» Reed asked.

«It seems to be afraid... poor baby!»

Hoshi leaned over the top of the cube and stroked the outside of the transparent container as if to caress the creature. In that moment, without warning, the animal exploded and Hoshi shouted out as she jumped away.

When they returned to peer into the cube, all that was left was something that looked like it had been splattered by a food processor. Bits of that poor creature were scattered around inside the small container.

«It's... exploded!» Trip exclaimed.

Archer activated the comm. «Archer to Doctor Phlox. Please come to launch bay one.»

Trip arrived in the sickbay. Phlox had brought the container with the exploded animal inside, there to examine what was left of it in more detail.

«Morning, Doc…discovered anything?»

«Very little.» The doctor replied, raising a pair of tweezers in which he had trapped a little ear. «This animal has been almost completely shredded by the explosion.»

Trip sat down beside the table where Phlox was working. «Wow. I'm going to have to tell the Patragani that one of their sweet pets died at my hands.»

«Do not blame yourself.» Phlox said. «How could you know that it would explode if removed from stasis.»

«I didn't even know that pulling it out of the cargo cube would be wake the creature up.»

The doors opened and Captain Archer came in. «We have made contact with the Patragani,» he announced.

«Ah...» Trip folded his arms. «I must go and apologise to them.»

«No, don't worry about it; I have already spoken to them. They also told me that their ship, the Patraga 4 exploded here two years ago, by mistake.»

«Crew error?»

Archer nodded. «There were seven males aboard, they managed to launch escape pods in time and were later rescued. They thought that the entire load had been lost. When I told them that one of the animals exploded…»

«Hmm.» Phlox muttered in the background.

«…they explained that it is an instinctive reaction of these animals... I did not understand exactly what they are called, but Hoshi assures me that their name can be roughly translated as...» He stifled a laugh. «"Chubbie".»

Trip did not attempt to contain his amusement, as he laughed out loud.

«They are pets, but they should be gradually accustomed to the presence of their masters. Otherwise, they swell up and burst. Apparently this discourages and confuses predators.»

«Maybe we should leave them in stasis until we can give them back to Patragani.» Trip proposed. «Cargo bay 4 can accommodate them, it's nearly empty.»

«Unfortunately it isn't that simple. The chubbies cannot last much longer in stasis, and it is probable that some of them are already dead.»

Phlox nodded to express his understanding of the situation. «I can keep them here with my other animals in sickbay.»

«No, that won't work there's too many of them.» Archer said.

«Do we know what they eat?» Trip asked. «We must consider how best to keep them alive until we can return them to the Patragani.»

Archer gave out a groan to indicate that he was suffering. «To tell the truth... the Patragani have given them to us.»

«Those…. little chubby things? They're ours to keep?» Trip exclaimed, amazed.

«Oh yes. There's at least one for each crew member, including MACOs.»

Phlox returned the severed auricle to one of the dissection dishes on his examination table. «I think it might be useful for the crew to have a little lesser animal that is soft and tender, to care for. After all, captain, you have Porthos.»

Porthos may be a «lesser» being, but he does not explode if he is afraid.» Archer objected. «Please advise the crew that if any of them don't want a pet, they can leave it the cargo bay.»

Tucker jumped to his feet. «Perfect, I'm going to prepare the cargo bay for mine.»

«Be quiet!» Hoshi said softly, when she saw Travis Mayweather on the threshold of the mess hall.

The young helmsman stopped. He looked at the linguist who was slowly caressing a ball of light brown hair.

«Did you manage to tame it?»

«Yes, look how sweet it is... when it's eating the creature is quite relaxed.» Hoshi smiled. «And yours?»

«Ah, to be honest it's still in stasis.» Travis took a cup and filled it at the dispenser. «I heard that Hess ended up in sickbay.»

Hoshi turned to him. «Because of her chubbie?»

Travis nodded. «Her chubbie literally exploded in her face. An ear hit her right in the eye and she got several scratches which were caused by flying bone fragments. «

Hoshi stroked her pet while it quietly munched on the crumbs that she had prepared for it. «I'm sorry for Hess. Maybe her chubbie was more easily frightened than mine.»

«I think we should have left them all in stasis.» Travis stated.

«But they're so cute...»

Travis smiled. «If you say so.»

Hoshi stood up to retrieve another piece of bread. «I believe that having pets on starships might help to relieve stress.»

«And take away the very little free time we have. It's been five days and I'm doing double shifts because Hutchison was hurt by his pet. If I had one I really would go crazy.»

Hoshi shrugged. «I think it's relaxing.»

Then chubbie turned and saw Travis for the first time. The creature began to shake and it's hair swelled up. «Oh no!» Hoshi cried as she ran towards it with the intention of soothing her pet. She didn't make it in time. Hoshi was halfway there when the chubbie exploded; she only had time to protect her face. When she lowered her arm, Travis could see her expression was one of great disappointment.

«Hoshi, I'm so sorry...»

«It's not your fault.» Hoshi said. «I should not have left it alone.» Then she sighed.

«I'll give you mine, if you want it.»

«Really?»

Mayweather smiled and nodded. «Let's go and get it.»

«I think that first I'll have to clean up this disaster...» she said, looking disconsolately at the area where her chubbie exploded.

«I'll give you a hand.»

After they had finished cleaning up and fetched the chubbie allocated to Travis, they discovered that either Hoshi was particularly lucky, or she definitely had an affinity with the Patragani chubbies. Even the chubbie Travis had so willingly given to her; quietly nestled up against her without exploding…. at least for now.

(To be continued...)

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	3. Chapter 3

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§3

Trip activated the door comm and then entered after he heard, «Come in».

«Slow and quiet, please.» T'Pol said.

Tucker stopped in his tracks. «What's happening?»

«There's a Patragano chubbie sleeping on the bench.»

He turned and saw the hairball that purred quietly, with all five paws retracted close to the body, antennae and little ears relaxed near the head.

He turned and saw what looked like a hairball, which was purring quietly. The creature had retracted all five paws into its body, while the antennae and little ears were flopped down near to its head.

Trip was completely speechless, as he continued to stare at the chubbie.

«Trip?»

He turned and walked over to where T'Pol was sitting on her bunk. «Why did you decide to take a chubbie?» he whispered.

«The captain said we should take care of them waking up, one for each crew member and someone must also take two.»

«The captain asked that the crew to take care of the cubbies as they started to wake up. Even if each person took one, it would mean that some of the crew would be required to take at least two.»

«So you took a chubbie?»

«Yes, even though I know that those entrusted to Hess and Sato have already exploded.»

«And you still took a chubbie?»

«And even though Mayweather chose to gave his to Hoshi.»

«_You_ took a chubbie?»

T'Pol regarded him pointedly. «Yes, Trip, I took a chubbie. You had a dog, didn't you?»

«Yes, I had a dog. But my Bedford died of old age, he didn't explode the first time he perceived danger.»

The Vulcan glanced at the small sleeping quintupled. «When it is tame, I will take it to the cargo bay 4»

«Do you still miss your pet sehlat?»

T'Pol sighed. «No, Trip. I do not miss my Sehlat, I'm following the captain's orders.»

«No, Archer did not make it an order, he just made the comment that there were enough chubbies for everybody.»

«Where is your chubbie?»

«He has not forced anyone to take them.»

«Where is your chubbie, Commander Tucker?» she repeated.

Trip sighed. He pointed a finger at her and said: «You know what I think? I've given you too many of my bad habits.»

The sleeping chubbie then woke up.

«Keep still.» the Vulcan whispered. She then got up and went to pick up the animal, to cradle it in her hands, intending to reassure it.

At that moment, Tucker felt he wanted to take that little ugly ball of hair and throw it against a bulkhead. It lacked the dignity found in other animals. It was stupid! How could exploding be a reasonable defensive mechanism? It made no sense, in an evolutionary sense.

T'Pol looked closely the chubbie. «It's a strange animal.» she whispered. There was something definitely wrong.

Not with the chubbie.

No, there was something wrong with her.

Her breathing became rapid and than she sneezed four times in a row.

«It seems that you have a chubbie allergy.» Trip said, not without some enjoyment. Never before had he witnessed her sneezing.

And the chubbie hadn't either and he reacted, as all chubbies did when startled, he began to swell.

«Watch out, T'Pol.» Trip exclaimed.

However, the Vulcan couldn't stop sneezing and the terrified chubbie, exploded.

«Are you hurt?» He asked.

T'Pol looked down at her hands and arms, which were covered with blood. «I don't think so.» Then she touched the skin under her right eye. «Something hard struck my face.»

«Let's go to the sickbay.»

«No, there's no need. I would like to take a shower. «

«But I think it's a better idea to check with Phlox first, he needs to know about your sudden allergy to chubbies.»

The Vulcan nodded. «I agree, but first I must shower.»

He could understand her point of view. He loved her, so he found her attractive even when she was dirty, sweaty or dishevelled (which happened rarely anyway), but at that moment, she wasn't a pretty sight covered in chubbie entrails. As she was about to go into her bathroom, he said: «If you weren't allergic, I'd give you mine.»

In reply T'Pol gave him a nasty look, which made Trip laugh.

Malcolm Reed was standing by the door of cargo bay 4. «But is it worth it?» he asked.

«I have asked that myself.» muttered Tucker. «Anyway they explode.»

«Have the Patragani explained how to avoid it happening?»

«We were at the limit of communications range. The captain only managed to get a small bit of information.»

«Well, I'd say knowing how to stop setting them off would be essential. Have you heard that O'Neill's one has also exploded?»

Trip nodded. «Yes, she ended up in the sickbay with a bone fragment stuck in her hand.»

«But as soon as Phlox discharged her, she got another chubbie.»

«I do not understand why they insist on trying to tame them.» Trip said. «They're stupid animals.»

«Well, they're sorry for the chubbies, they don't want them to die in stasis.»

Tucker shook his head. Then he looked at Reed. «Where's yours?»

Malcolm hesitated for a moment, and then admitted: «Still in stasis.» He coughed slightly. «And yours?»

«I gave it to Hoshi.»

«Which means that she now has two chubbies?»

«No, the one Travis gave her exploded.»

«There it is.»

T'Pol stared at the screen for a few seconds. «I see it.»

«I synthesized a focused antihistamine-»

The Vulcan stopped the Denobulan doctor immediately. «No, thanks, it is not necessary.»

«You don't want another chubbie?»

«No.»

«It's a shame.» Phlox said, nonchalantly.

«What do you mean?»

«I think it would be an interesting experiment if you tried to keep a pet.»

T'Pol looked quizzically at the Denobulan. «I have already had experience of keeping a pet, I had a Sehlat.»

«Really?»

She gave him another sidelong glance. «Yes, really.»

Phlox smiled and stared at her, crossing his arms.

«It was a gift from a friend of my mother.» she said. «When I came home from school I was often alone so he gave me a Sehlat. It kept me company, helped me to learn to take care of myself and it.» She stopped for a moment. «I should say she, really, my Sehlat was a female.»

«Interesting.» Phlox commented, as he selected a hypospray. «You were a young girl, then?»

«Yes. But I do not see the point of this discussion.»

«It's not always necessary to have a point. I figured that after all these years with Mr Tucker you would know that.» He made one of his huge smiles. «In any case, I need to administer the antihistamine, since there are still several chubbies around the ship.» Then he pushed the hypospray against her neck. «Done.»

«Thank you, Doctor.» T'Pol turned on her heel and left the sickbay quickly, her progress watched by a smiling Phlox.

(To be continued...)

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	4. Chapter 4

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§4

When the door of his ready room opened, Archer could see Donna O'Neill, who was in command of the gamma shift, standing in the doorway.

«Lieutenant.» he said. «Come in, please.»

The woman was slightly flushed and had a conspicuous bruise on her forehead.

«What's happened?» he asked, indicating that she should sit down.

«What? Ah, this...» she touched the bruise. «My chubbie exploded yesterday. One of its ears hit me at high speed. But it's nothing.»

«We have decimated them.» Archer remarked. «They aren't very strong animals.»

«And not very courageous.» she stated. «And that got me thinking ...»

«That's why you're here?»

O'Neill, nodded. «Captain... have I ever mentioned to you why I requested a position on Enterprise?»

Jonathan smiled slightly. «Well, it seems pretty obvious to me.» he said. «It's the best ship in the Starfleet. Virtually everyone serving on Enterprise wanted intensely to be here... except, perhaps for Hoshi.»

She abruptly stood up and purposely approached the captain. «Well, not all.» She kept going until she was standing right in front of him. «I'm here for you.» she said.

«What?» he asked.

«I love you, Jonathan.» She leant forward, placing her hands on the arms of the captain's chair and kissed him.

Archer caressed her face with his hands. «Me too, O'Neill, or can I call you Donna...» . Then he got up and enthusiastically hugged the woman, holding her with all his strength.

«Why don't we go to your quarters?» O'Neill whispered.

«Why waste time?»

«A pragmatic man, I like that idea.» she exclaimed, as she started to unfasten her uniform. Then she sat on his desk and encircled his hips with her legs.

Archer had already unzipped and peeled off the top half of his uniform, when the door comm was activated. Without even thinking, he called out: «Come in.»

Hoshi appeared in the doorway. She stopped in her tracks, staring at the two people who were obviously involved in something much more intimate than was appropriate in captain's ready room.

«Captain...» she whispered.

«What is it, Hoshi?» He asked, while kissing O'Neill's neck.

«Nothing. Excuse me, I'll come back later.»

«Okay.» Archer said. «See you later, Hoshi.» He heard the door close and smiled at O'Neill.. «I hope no one else will disturb us.»

Hoshi Sato was tapping her fingers nervously on a table in the mess hall, when Travis Mayweather came in. «Do you want some company? « he asked as he sat down opposite her. «What's wrong?»

«You have no idea what's wrong?» she shouted out.

Travis winced. «What?»

«Just like that, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening!»

The helmsman looked around. They were alone in the mess hall and the meaning of Hoshi's words eluded him completely. «What are you talking about?»

«I went into captain's ready room... and he was there... with Donna O'Neill!»

«So?»

Sato stood up, walked around the table and leant forward to kiss Travis. After a moment of amazement, he pushed her back. «Hoshi!»

«I want to make love, Travis. My quarters or yours?»

Mayweather stood up, breaking away from her. «Are you totally nuts?»

«The captain thinks it is okay to sleep with O'Neill, but not with me?» she said. «Well, why not you and me? We hold the same rank.»

«I get that you're angry with the captain, but that doesn't mean I have to suffer as a consequence.»

Hoshi looked at him with pure hatred, and then she ran out of the mess.

Travis sighed. Sato's behaviour was really strange, but at that moment he was far too tired. He decided to go to his quarters and get some sleep.

«I have been refused.»

Malcolm, one hand leaning against the wall, looked down at Hoshi, who was standing in the open doorway of his quarters. «I'm sorry, but it is late and I really can't understand why you're so upset.»

«Will you let me come in?»

Reed nodded and moved away from the doorway.

«First the captain tells me that we can not be together because he is my superior.»

«Well, yes, in fact, the regulation-»

Sato interrupted him. «Then I see him bedding O'Neill. Although not that is, in a bed, but on the desk in his ready room.»

Reed visibly blushed. «Hoshi...»

«After seeing that, I propositioned Travis. He is an ensign like me, so there shouldn't be a problem, but damn him. What did he do? He refused me!»

«Wait... wait!» he said. «Are you telling me that you offered yourself to Travis... wanted to sleep with him... and he refused you?»

«YES!» Hoshi shouted.

«Then he's an idiot. If I had the good fortune to be asked...I would not refuse you.» he said.

«Well.» said Sato.

«Well.» Reed repeated.

They stared to each other for an instant. Then Hoshi rushed towards him, hugging and kissing Reed with passion. As he had said seconds before, he did not refuse her. Instead he returned her kisses, lifting her in his arms so that he could carry her to his bunk.

(To be continued...)

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	5. Chapter 5

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§5

T'Pol came out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. Usually the cool air in the bathroom, when she stepped out of the shower, made her shiver. This time, however, she still felt hot. She wiped the mirror with her hand to remove the condensation and stared at her image. She noticed that her skin had darkened because of a rush of green blood to her face.

She rinsed her face with cold water.

She opened a drawer beside the wash hand basin and pulled out a Vulcan medical tricorder and passed it over her body. When she checked the data, it showed that her temperature was higher than normal. Then she heard her door comm.

T'Pol quickly put the tricorder back in the drawer and left the bathroom wearing only the towel. «Come in.»

«I couldn't wait to get here.» Tucker said, entering.

T'Pol stood just outside the entrance to her bathroom. «I was impatient for you to visit too.» she said.

Tucker smiled. «You know... Today I just couldn't get you out of my mind.»

The Vulcan came up to him. «I was similarly afflicted.» she replied. Then she suddenly dropped her towel to the ground. «Strip!»

«That is an order I can willingly obey.» Tucker smiled. «Would you like me to put my clothes on the bench?»

«No,» she said. «Let's not waste time.» She pushed him onto the bed. «Trip, I feel strange.» T'Pol remarked, as she kissed Trip, almost violently.

«Why do you think you feel strange?» He asked, thinking more about his urgent need touch her than to anything else.

«As if I have started my mating cycle, the Pon Farr...»

«And through our bond, these feelings have passed to me.» Tucker sat up, taking her in his arms to pull her down onto the bed and then all thoughts of logical conversation vanished.

When T'Pol had recovered the minimum amount of strength needed to open her eyes, she glanced across at her terminal. She had completely lost track of time.

It was 0100 hrs in the morning.

This meant that...

«Trip, we've lost two hours...»« She whispered as she turned towards him.

Tucker was asleep, lying on his back with one hand up next to his face and the other one folded across his chest. He looked wonderful in his complete nakedness.

T'Pol wanted to have more sexual relations, but the need for sleep was too strong. She decided that for the time being, she would not cover herself, and she would leave Trip as he was. She curled up beside him, resting her head on his chest and fell back to sleep.

When Travis left his quarters the next morning, the first thing he saw was a Patragano chubbie roaming the corridor in front of him.

He stopped, knowing he was not a favourite Human for these animals. He stood where he was and let the chubbie get closer to him, watching as it advanced on all five of its legs and then turned the corner.

He thought that it was strange that someone had let a chubbie wander freely on the ship, but that thought was banished by a far greater unexplainable occurrence: the bridge was deserted.

He sat down at the helm, and noted that navigation was set on autopilot. That was quite normal when there was no special danger; a helmsman was only essential in an emergency.

However, everything was too quiet this morning, and it felt odd to be alone on the bridge.

He thought that perhaps he had missed something.

Travis activated the comm. «Mayweather to Captain Archer.»

No response.

«Mayweather to Commander Tucker.»

More silence.

Well, if they didn't want to respond, he knew there was one person who would, even if she was dangling over a precipice by a single thread.

«Mayweather to commander T'Pol.»

Travis waited for a minute, then two minutes and finally gave up after five long minutes.

Then he got up and pressed the door comm for the captain's ready room, but there was no answer.

He then tried to raise someone else, «Mayweather to Doctor Phlox.»

«Phlox here.»

«Has something happened?»

«Not that I'm aware of.» Phlox said in a calm voice.

«Then where is everybody?»

«Well, at a guess, I would say the alpha shift should be manning the bridge.»

Travis leant one arm against the wall. «No, doctor... no one is on duty apart from me and you.»

The doctor was silent for a moment. «The captain is in his office.» Phlox said.

Mayweather sighed. «Okay, I'll see what I can find out, Mayweather out.»

He tried the ready room again and when he failed to get an answer, decided to manually open the door. Then as he stood, shocked, in the entranceway, he took in a sight that he had not even remotely expected to see.

Archer and O'Neill were lying together on the floor, their uniforms in disorder, half naked and seemingly asleep.

«C-captain...» Travis stammered. Then he cleared his throat. «Captain.» He called again.

«Captain Archer! Lieutenant O'Neill!» he shouted in panic. There was no response. «JONATHAN! DONNA!»

He leant forward and put two fingers on the captain's throat, and felt a regular heartbeat. He stood up and activated the comm. «Mayweather to Dr. Phlox. You need to come to the captain's ready room...»

«The whole crew is in a state of deep sleep. I can not wake them up.» Phlox said.

Travis sighed. «Do you have any idea what the cause is?»

«I'm working on it.»

They had only taken the captain and O'Neill to the sickbay, because the other crewmembers were sleeping in their beds.

«Whatever it is,» said Phlox. «it has affected everyone onboard, apart from me and you.» He selected a sample tube and a needle. «I will need to examine your blood.»

Travis nodded.

«Did you notice any strange behaviour last night?» Phlox asked.

«I was pretty tired, so I went to bed early.» He said. «But I spoke to Hoshi in the mess hall and she was acting very strangely.»

«Strange, how?» asked Phlox, as he continued analysing the blood sample.

«She was very mad at the captain. She said... um... well...»

«Mr. Mayweather, I remind you that you're talking to your Denobulan doctor.»

Travis smiled sheepishly. «She said she saw Archer and O'Neill having sex and... she proposed that I should join her in her quarters.»

«Yes, my analysis of the crew showed high levels of pheromones in their systems. And of course a number of substances which are released by the body during mating.»

The ensign thought that although the doctor was very comfortable talking about sex, he did not share the same tranquillity about the matter, so he said: «I'd best return to my station, at the helm, doctor. If you need me, I'll be on the bridge.»

The helmsman returned to the sickbay that night. He had covered the basic functions of the bridge for three consecutive shifts and he was now definitely tired. He knew that, unfortunately, he would have also to cover the delta shift.

«Doctor? Have you discovered anything?»

Phlox was passing a tricorder over O'Neill. «I think I have found the cause.» He pointed at a monitor. «You see there?»

«That little red thing?»

«No. That «little red thing» is a blood cell. The yellow things, however, are parasitic organisms. All crew members have them in their blood, except for you and me. For me, the parasite is not compatible with my physiology. As for why you haven't been infected, I do not know as yet.» He looked down at the tricorder data. «The parasite stimulates the production of pheromones, causing sexual arousal, and the repression of inhibitions. Then when that wears off it causes the body to fall into a state of deep sleep.»

«Can you eradicate it?»

«For now the only way I've found is to use an antimicrobial agent at levels lethal to human organisms. It could work on T'Pol, but I'm not certain, so, before I try, I want to look for another solution.»

Travis sighed wearily. «Okay, right. But where do these microbes come from? We have not been in contact with alien beings since we left Trekapa, and the chubbies passed all the scans.»

«That is they passed before they started exploding.» Phlox stressed. He changed the image on the screen. «I've analyzed the remains of O'Neill's chubbie and found that the chemical reaction that triggers the growth of the mass and the explosion is created by the same microbe that has infected our comrades. It is in a neutral state until the chubbie begins to feel fear, then its DNA braids up and creates the organism using the cellular replication within the chubbie.»

«So... If we could find a chubbie who is still alive...»

«We could ascertain what prevents the replication of the parasite.» Phlox sighed. «Unfortunately, I'm not very good with chubbies. My first one exploded, as did the other twelve I had tried to look after.»

«There must be some still alive... Yes, this morning I saw one in the corridor. I know that Hoshi was pretty good at looking after them, so I could go and find out if her one still alive, and if it's tame I could try and capture it.»

Phlox nodded. «You also need rest, Ensign.»

«I think that is the least of our problems.»

Travis left sickbay, and ran to Hoshi's quarters. He could not get the image of her in bed with Malcolm out of his mind; he had seen them together when he had helped Phlox run checks on the crew.

He opened the door to Hoshi's quarters and took a cautious step inside. The little hairball was curled up quietly on the desk, next to the terminal.

Travis walked slowly towards it. «Hello.» he whispered, trying to be as sweet and gentle as possible. «Hello little one.»

The chubbie stood up on its five paws but did not run. Travis took hold of him, placing one hand under the soft belly. «Good boy, good chubbie.» He gave it a gentle caress in between the creature's antennas. He'd just had to get back it to Phlox.

He turned to leave, just as the ship was shaken by a strong blow. Travis grabbed the desk with his free hand. Then another blow rocked the ship.

The chubbie began to tremble.

«No,» cried Travis. «No, calm down, I'll prote...» It only took one more hit for the chubbie to explode all over him.

«Damn!» he exclaimed, trying to shake off pieces of chubbie. Another explosion shuddered through the ship and convinced Travis that, rather than look for another pet, he had to run to the bridge.

He took the Enterprise out of warp. On the view screen he could see four unknown ships.

He pressed the communication button. «Good morning, I'm Travis Mayweather, the helmsman of the starship Enterprise from Earth. Why are you attacking us?»

The translation matrix took a few moments to hook up.

«...Danger to our planet.»

«No, no,» said Travis. «We come in peace. We are explorers.»

Finally the face of an orange-skinned humanoid with long ears appeared on the screen. «We do not doubt your good faith, Mr. Trevismeivuederhelmsman. But we scanned your ship and it has been infected by threat number 543210boom. Your ship must be destroyed.»

«No, no, wait! What are you talking about? What threat?»

«It is a very infectious parasite, which causes improper behaviour followed by a deep sleep which eventually results in death. We can not allow this disease to spread.»

Travis sighed. «I understand, but our doctor is looking for a cure. And then look at me, I have not been infected. The doctor is trying to understand why, and if we find a cure, we can share this information with you.»

The orange humanoid hesitated for a moment, and then turned to what Travis surmised must be a tactical position to issue an order. Then he turned his attention back to Travis: «We will give you five hours. Then we must destroy your ship. «

Mayweather nodded. There was nothing else he could do but agree to the alien's terms. But as he told Phlox, the helm was the least of their worries.

(To be continued...)

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	6. Chapter 6

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§6

Travis Mayweather walked slowly, on tiptoe. He had to blend in with the

bulkheads, to be invisible.

He must not be heard.

It was his last chance.

His last chance to save Enterprise and her crew.

He turned the corner.

The bastard was there, sitting quietly on the decking with its back to the helmsman, and nibbling a sandwich that had probably been stolen from the mess hall.

He would have liked to have torn that treacherous, wicked, nasty fur ball, with five chubby little paws and two antennas, to shreds...but he could not kill it now.

He walked slowly.

He could not reveal himself too early in case it ran away: it was so fast

it would be difficult to find again.

He just had to grab hold of that soft little body and turn it upside down.

Then it would be rendered harmless because the creature would fall asleep. Or so Dr. Phlox had told him.

Travis reached out. He was almost within reach...

The creature turned around. It saw him. It straightened out its stubby legs, stretched up antennae and regarded the helmsman with eyes wide with fear.

«Stay calm...» he said. «I do not want to hurt you. »

The creature's hair stood up in fear, making it look like a large wad of hair.

Travis tried to carefully grab hold of it around its middle, but the creature wriggled away, ending up in a corner between two bulkheads.

«Quiet ... I will not hurt you. »

Then the creature began to vibrate.

«No! » Travis shook his head vigorously, in a desperate attempt to get it to stop. «Calm down...»

The vibration was growing stronger... and stronger...

BOOOOOM!

Travis just had time to cover his face with his arm.

Organic debris rained down on him. He felt broken bits of bone cutting his

exposed skin while copious amounts red blood covered him and his uniform. When he lowered his arm, the little furry creature was gone. All that was left behind were fragments of bone, guts and whatever else had been part of that disgusting bastard, littered over the bulkheads. Travis had to shake his hand to get rid of the hairy little ear that was clinging to the back of it.

«Damn...» he whispered. This was not the outcome they had wanted. He activated the comm: «Mayweather to Doctor Phlox. »

«Phlox here, have you found it, Ensign? »

Travis sighed, «Yes..., but it exploded. »

The doctor was silent for a moment. «We'll have to find a different way of getting a cure. And fast! »

Mayweather leant against the bulkhead and slid down to the deck. What other treatment could be found? In an hour the aliens intended to destroy the ship and they had run out of chubbies, even though it seemed that they were more numerous than he thought they should be. He had chased chubbies all around the ship for almost four hours. What could he do now? He was just a helmsman, not a doctor or a biologist. He closed his eyes and remained slumped there for some minutes.

Then He began to feel pieces of the chubbie falling from his skin and dropping onto the deck.

-Yuck...- he thought. He opened his eyes, thinking about asking Phlox for another assignment, whatever it was.

At that moment, he thought that fatigue was giving him hallucinations.

The pieces of chubbie - blood, bones, ears, hair... - were converging on the point of explosion.

«I'm going crazy.» Travis whispered.

The pieces were slowly reassembling and, in a few minutes, the chubbie was whole and alive again.

«I can not believe it.» the helmsman stated in amazement. Before the chubbie had the chance to explode again, he grabbed it from behind and gave it an injection to make it fall asleep quickly.

He stood up and activated the comm: «Mayweather to Doctor Phlox. I have captured a live chubbie.»

«Are you certain that it's good idea to try it first on the captain?»

«We have a few choices, Mr. Mayweather,» Phlox said. «But there's no time to draw lots, and I know what Captain Archer's choice would be.»

Travis could not fault the doctor's reasoning.

Phlox held the hypospray against Archer's neck and activated it.

With bated breath, the two men had to wait for a few seconds before Archer slowly opened his eyes. «What a headache...» he whispered. He covered his eyes with his arm, and then removed it so that he could look at Phlox and Travis, who stared back at him. «What happened?» He had a vague memory of having done something completely reckless with Donna O'Neill. No, that had to be just a dream.

«You've been infected by parasites, but...» Travis glanced at the screen above the bed. The parasites were disappearing. «Phlox has found a cure.» He smiled. «Captain, you are needed on the bridge right now.»

«The same thing that happened to you, captain, and the rest of the crew, » Phlox said. Now you need to go with Ensign Mayweather, or my efforts to find a cure will be vain.»

(To be continued...)

Author's note: I want to thank Opal who betaread this story, Zero Credibility who I can consider my Englih fan, Seti & Franz whop betaread all my stories in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


	7. Chapter 7

**I Naviganti 13: "Teneri Paciocchini**

**(Cute Chubbies)"**

by Monica MicioGatta

§7

«We are out of the Scovistan space.» Mayweather said.

Archer nodded. «Well done, Travis.» He turned to Phlox, who had arrived on the bridge a few minutes earlier to explain to the aliens, called the Scovistans, who had threatened to destroy Enterprise that he had found the cure and how it worked. «I suggest we wake the rest of the crew, now.» Archer then put a hand on the helmsman's shoulder. « You will only need to endure for a few more minutes, Ensign. We will send you a replacement as soon as possible.»

He smiled. «No problem, sir.»

Archer turned to Donna O'Neill who was sitting at the tactical station and staring at the floor.

«O'Neill?»

She winced, and when she looked up and met his gaze, her face was very flushed.

«I need you to give Mayweather a hand.» Archer ordered. Then he left the bridge, entering the turbolift with Phlox. «Doctor, what is the situation with regard to contraception?»

«Almost every crewmember has a monthly contraceptive shot.» the doctor advised.

«Almost?» Archer asked, while the turbolift travelled toward B deck.

«Let's just say that there should not be any problems.» Phlox smiled slightly. «Of course T'Pol and Tucker are excluded. There may be a problem, however, with another. I could not inject Lieutenant Reed this month, as he was receiving heavy doses of drugs to treat an allergic reaction, and Ensign Sato, was due to have her shot two days ago, just when the emergency began.»

«Well then, it shouldn't be a big problem,» Archer remarked.

Phlox did not answer; instead he activated the door control to gain access to Malcolm Reed's quarters. «The problem is this.» he announced.

Archer had remained in the corridor, ready to intervene in case of emergency. But one thing was clear for him: he didn't want to go into one of his crew's quarters and find them in very compromising position.

He cleared his throat. «What?» he asked Phlox. -Damn, what the hell did I do with Donna?- he wondered. But even as he asked the question, he knew the truth of the matter, and embarrassed he folded his arms.

«We'll just have to wait and see.» Phlox said, exiting the quarters.

«Let's go wake T'Pol and Trip.» Archer said, «I need the two of them.»

Phlox nodded as they left Hoshi and Malcolm to rest. «Out of curiosity, what makes you think that they are together?»

Archer stopped in his tracks in the middle of the corridor. «What?»

«No, do not worry, Captain. Although they are in fact together, they have not made it obvious.» The Denobulan smiled. «You know, I think this is the problem with a monogamous society. Anyway, I must admit that this encounter with heightened pheromones has reminded me of Octran fertility contests. Have I ever told you about them, Captain?»

«You mentioned them once.» Archer said hastily. As they walked towards T'Pol's quarters, he wondered if they were actually there or had ended up elsewhere. If T'Pol had managed to have some control, she would have chosen her quarters, since she had a bigger bed: it was logical. He just hoped that the influence of chubbies on the Vulcan was minor.

Again he stood out in the corridor, waiting in case Phlox needed help.

Probably, he thought, if T'Pol had experienced the same symptoms as he had, she would not have been as shocked as him: after all she was already in a relationship with Trip.

When Phlox entered, T'Pol was still asleep in bed, most likely completely naked under the sheet that protected her modesty. Trip was lying next to her, prone, and in the same state of nakedness.

Phlox held the hypospray against T'Pol's neck.

T'Pol awoke almost immediately. She saw the doctor standing next to her bed and sat up suddenly. «What happened?» she asked. Then she retrieved the sheet to cover herself.

«What do you remember?» Phlox asked, as he loaded the hypospray again in order to inject Tucker with the cure.

«I remember that I felt very hot. Then Commander Tucker came here and...» She turned toward the doctor, who could see that her cheeks had become slightly green. «But what happened?»

«You were all infected by a virus that led to a general state of excitement.» Phlox commented. «All of the crew had a busy night of sexual relations.» He pressed the hypospray against Trip's neck.

Trip turned on his side and yawned. «Mhmpf... wow...» he whispered. Then he opened his eyes and found himself face to face with a smiling Phlox. Trip sat up screaming while pulling the sheet toward him, and T'Pol, who was clinging to the sheet herself, toppled onto him.

«What the hell happened?» Trip asked.

«Quiet, sir.» Phlox said, running the tricorder over him. «You and T'Pol have had a hot night.»

«And why are you here, doc?»

«The symptoms you experienced were as a result of a virus.»

T'Pol tugged on the sheet to try and cover herself. «How did we catch this virus?» the Vulcan asked.

«It was latent in Patragani chubbies. In its active form it causes sexual arousal, and then a state of deep sleep.»

«Them again!» Trip exclaimed. «They certainly look like cute little guys, but they are too dangerous. I fear them.»

Archer was still in the corridor, but he could hear everything. He covered his eyes with one hand. He was not convinced that he wanted to know exactly what he and O'Neill had done. -I think the next time we meet Patragani; I'll turn the ship about, and run away as fast as if they were Klingons.-

Phlox came out of the quarters. «The two of them are fine. Come on, I have eighty more crewmembers to wake up.»

T'Pol looked Tucker, who returned his gaze. «I knew there was something wrong.» He smiled sheepishly. «You did not want me to hide my uniform inside the bench.»

Jonathan Archer smiled when Travis Mayweather arrived on the bridge at 8:01.

«I'm sorry I'm late, Captain.» said the young helmsman.

«No problem.»

Mayweather relieved Hutchison and sat down at his station. «I must inform you that Phlox discovered the reason why I was not affected by the virus. I have an antibody, but it was very weak and hard for Phlox to locate. I was in contact with a creature similar to a chubbie when I was a child. I had not remembered, until Phlox had asked me about it.»

«The advantage of being a space boomer.» Archer remarked. «In addition Phlox told me that you managed to capture a chubbie before it exploded. «

Travis turned to the captain. «To tell the truth it did explode.» Indeed, in the haste to find a cure, he had forgotten to specify that detail. «Then... as strange as it might seem, it reconstructed itself.»

«You mean, the exploded pieces reformed back into a chubbie?»

Mayweather nodded. «Yes, sir.»

They exchanged a glance.

Archer activated the comm. «Archer to O'Neill, I need you on the bridge right now to take over command!» Then he gave the officers on the bridge an order: «Travis, Malcolm, T'Pol, with me.»

As they raced to reach the waste collection pods, Archer alerted Trip to meet them there. By the time they arrived, Tucker was already working to dismantle one of the inspection panels.

When he pulled it away, Archer and Travis' fears were confirmed. The pod was full of small, happy, satisfied and active Patragani chubbies.

«Damn...» whispered Trip.

At that point the chubbies, as if they were only one body, turned towards him.

«NO!» Archer said.

All of the chubbies began to tremble.

Tucker rushed to close the panel... but not quickly enough.

«DOWN!» Archer shouted.

The detonation of a more than a hundred pallets of hair opened the interior bulkheads of the waste pod.

When the rain of waste and bits of chubbies finally ceased, the five Starfleet officers, fortunately unhurt but very, very dirty, looked at each other and sighed.

Tucker ran the back of his hand under his nose. «Folks, we are in deep shit.» He made a slight smile. «Literally.»

THE END

(October 18th 2009)

Inspired by «Save Enterprise» Fenix.

Do you want to know why T'Pol has a queen size bed?

Do you want to know who the Patragani are and why Archer and Trip are so afraid of them?

Do you want to know how Trip and T'Pol ended up together?

Do you want to know why Trip and T'Pol do not use contraceptives and how Archer knows this?

If yes, you have to read my other (previous) stories. You can find them on my blog.

Thanks to Opal that betaread this work in English and to Seti and Franz who betaread it in Italian.

All my stories are published in Italian on my blog.


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